Day: August 15, 2021

On 12 August, FATF-style regional body APG published 2 follow-up reports –

The mutual evaluation report (MER) of Cambodia was adopted in July 2017 and this report analyses Cambodia’s progress in addressing the technical compliance (TC) deficiencies identified in its MER – as is usual with such updates this report does not analyse any progress Cambodia has made to improve its effectiveness. Technical compliance re-ratings are given where sufficient progress has been demonstrated. This report also analyses progress made in implementing new requirements relating to FATF Recommendation 15 which has changed since the MER was adopted.  Cambodia had requested re-ratings of the FATF Recommendations 1, 12, 33, 37, 38 and 40 (which were rated PC) and 7 (which was rated NC).   The APG welcomes the steps that Cambodia has taken to improve its technical compliance with Recommendations 1, 7, 12, 33, 37, 38 and 40 and, as a result of this progress, Cambodia has been re-rated on Recommendations 1, 7, 12, 33, 37 and 38.  However, insufficient progress has been made to justify a re-rating of Recommendation 40.  Cambodia now has 27 Recommendations rated C/LC and will remain in enhanced follow-up, and will continue to report back to the APG on progress to strengthen its implementation of AML/CFT measures.  Its next progress report is due 1 February.

http://www.apgml.org/includes/handlers/get-document.ashx?d=0bbf5392-f3f0-476e-8cfd-639383ff37c2

The mutual evaluation report (MER) of Pakistan was published in October 2019, and this report analyses the progress of Pakistan in addressing the technical compliance deficiencies identified in Pakistan’s MER. Technical compliance re-ratings are given where sufficient progress has been demonstrated.  As with the report on Cambodia, and all such follow-up reports, this report does not analyse any progress Pakistan has made to improve its effectiveness.  Pakistan has made good progress in addressing the technical compliance deficiencies identified in its MER and has been re-rated on FATF Recommendations10, 18, 26 and 34. Recommendation 10 has been re-rated to Compliant, and Recommendations 18, 26 and 34 to Largely Compliant.  Overall, in light of the progress made by Pakistan since its MER was adopted, its technical compliance with the FATF Recommendations as of February 2021 is detailed in the following schedule.  Pakistan thus has 35 Recommendations rated C/LC and will remain on enhanced follow-up, and will continue to report back to the APG on progress to strengthen its implementation of AML/CFT measures. Pakistan’s next progress report is due 1 February.

http://www.apgml.org/includes/handlers/get-document.ashx?d=64b2d2b7-bb60-4230-880f-c4aae6f47f27

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The latest RUSI Financial Crime Insight podcast involves Tom Keatinge being joined by Jen Ellis of Rapid7, Elliptic’s Simone Maini, the University of Oxford’s Ciaran Martin, Graeme Newman from CFC Underwriting, and journalist and author Misha Glenny (of “McMafia” fame) to discuss current efforts to combat this threat, and the most reasonable policy interventions available to governments and the private sector.

https://rusi.org/podcasts/financial-crime-insights/episode-20-disrupting-ransomware-ecosystem

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On 4 August, an article from Braumiller Law Group is concerned with a caution about licence exemptions for Australia and the UK contained in the US International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR).  It explains that an ITAR licence exemption means that the exporter does not need a license or agreement to export or temporarily import defence articles or defence services – but warns that anyone anticipating using such an exemption must meet all the requirements for the exemption.  Exporters that cannot meet all these requirements cannot use the exemption.

https://www.braumillerlaw.com/the-itar-australia-and-uk-exemptions-better-read-the-regulations-carefully/

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On 12 August, the BBC reported that a new service has launched on the Darknet offering criminals a way to check how “clean” their digital coins are – called Antinalysis, criminals are now able to check their own Bitcoin wallets and see whether any association with criminal activity could be flagged by authorities.  An expert is quoted as saying that it is a concerning new trend that could make their work and that of law enforcement harder. But luckily researchers who tested it say the service isn’t working very well at the moment.

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-58176113

https://krebsonsecurity.com/2021/08/new-anti-anti-money-laundering-services-for-crooks/

On 11 August, The National in UAE reported that investments include interests in about 40 international companies in the Middle East and North Africa, Die Welt reported.  The newspaper said it saw documents from 2017-18 that were part of a decade’s worth of financial files discovered on a Hamas computer.

https://www.thenationalnews.com/world/2021/08/11/hamas-secret-foreign-investment-portfolio-reportedly-worth-500m/